Modeling and Analysis of Active Flap Using Coiled Bender Piezoelectric Actuators

The applicability and effectiveness of three novel piezoelectric coiled bender actuators to deflect a plain trailing edge flap on a straight wing in the presence of incompressible flow airloads is investigated in this paper through analytical modeling. This work builds upon previous research in which the three actuator configurations, the linear spiral type, the helicoidal type, and the hybrid type, have been proposed and analytically modeled, and the first two configurations have been experimentally validated. A simple analytical model for the piezoelectrically actuated flap is developed and used for this investigation. Results show that the use of coiled piezoelectric actuators for flap deflection is an effective approach. The variation of flap deflection angles with applied actuation voltage and wing angle of attack is also shown, together with performance envelopes.